Minutes of the meeting at La Rosa Hotel on the above date.
Present: Adele, Gill, Harry, Ian, Jan, John, Michele, Suzanne, Tim.
Apologies: Jenny, Laura, Lisa, Magda, Pip.
Topic: Members’ work-in-progress.
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Matters Arising
Ian reminded attendees that this was the last WWG meeting before the August recess. We meet again 10 September.
Ian asked Adele to report briefly on the state-of-play over Lit Fest 2026. She would use her spot to go into detail.
Members’ Readings
Suzanne — gave us a humorous article told in the first person. A little girl hears from her grandad, who used to escort prisoners for the quarter sessions, about the coming of the railway to Whitby. And how it was built by imported labour: rough hard-drinking men called “navvies”. Mother thinks grandad is a bad influence on her.
Adele — reported on:
- Whitby Gathers, an Arts Council-funded event centred on Whitby Library.
- Whitby Lit Fest 2026, 19-22 September this year. 4 full days. Some big names are already lined up. The website is under construction and will be ready on 24 August. Events will be separately ticketed, as per last year. Tickets will be on sale from 31 August.
Details of these events will be blogged separately on this site.
Gill — read out a draft synopsis to her zany story of Tommy and the Witches. Tommy, pre-teens, with no needlework experience, is appointed the Tailor to a coven of retired witches – and given a magic needle to fulfil his duties. Ian wondered out loud if witches ever retire – don’t you stay a witch till the end of time?
John — continues his novel in-progress about two photographers snapping Whitby Gothic Weekend. He introduced the second photographer, who is also a radio ham. He has a huge radio mast in his back garden, which causes concern to the neighbours (and the police and the RAF). He throws a midsummer party for the suspicious neighbours, with a choice of uncool music and wines.
Jan — continued reading her co-authored memoir of a friend called Alice (unable to write for herself), who with her husband and two toddlers lived off-grid in a tiny French village near La Rochelle in 2012 or thereabouts.
Californian valley girl Eva sweeps in, with mounds of baggage, at Alice’s truly humble abode. Think Zsa Zsa Gabor. She decides to hold a soirée for the neighbours, which impresses them enough to bring gifts of their own.
Harry — still underway as First Radio Officer on the SS Marwarri. It is 22 January 1961. The ship is being piloted by a Bengalese pilot up the Adi Ganga, aka the river Hooghly. Various ships from the Age of Sail are recorded as having come a cropper on the ever-shifting shoals. Steam ought to give way to sail, but trying to avoid the plethora of native boats would be a recipe for running aground. But the trade with India keeps the company in profit.
Tim — continued with his Ballad of the Wirefolk. The famous wire sculptures of Whitby come alive at night, and go visiting each other – and my! – don’t they have adventures.
Ian — continued reading from his recently finished novel Anitra’s Petition, of which the numbered First Edition is being sold in aid of Freedom From Torture.
Determined to read the ancient spatio-color Book of Titan as a fast-path to (groubian) adulthood, Anitra relieves her sleeping guardian of her copy from around her neck and goes looking for a place to read it without being interrupted. After a series of minor adventures escaping Fort Rainbow, she ends up back at Lofoten, the Norwegian-style log cabin on the north rim of Valles Marineris. There, after a welcome coffee, she goes back outside to read the deadly document.
The meeting closed at 1:10 PM.
Links (in accession order)…
Contact page https://whitbywriters.com/contact/
La Rosa Hotel www.whitbywriters.com/venue
Ian www.whitbywriters.com/ian-clark
Anitra’s Petition https://whitbywriters.com/2026/05/07/clark-nida-anitras-petition/
The Titan Kiss https://whitbywriters.com/the-titan-kiss/
Freedom From Torture https://www.freedomfromtorture.org
Harry www.whitbywriters.com/harry-nicholson
Adele https://whitbywriters.com/adele-duffield/
Whitby Lit Fest 2026 https://whitbylitfest.org.uk
Whitby Writers Group 